he Brothers Grimm’s
Snow White
and Hans Christian
Andersen’s
The Snow Queen
collide in a fantasy fairy tale
face-off that results in something akin to
Frozen,
albeit
not so cute. A prequel to
Snow White and the Huntsman
,
Kristen Stewart misses out, but with Emily Blunt and Jessica
Chastain joining returning stars Charlize Theron and Chris
Hemsworth (looking abs-olutely smashing), that’s no cause
for chagrin. The story? Eric (Hemsworth) and warrior mate
Sara (Chastain) have to hide their love away, for Queen Freya
(Blunt) has banned such mushy stuff from her ice palace
while she’s warring with her sister, Ravenna (Theron). You won’t be seeing this
adorning little kids’ lunchboxes, pencil cases, torsos, beds or anything else
that you can slap marketing on. But
Winter’s War
nails what fairy tales were
originally about – being dark, broody and disquieting.
AF
(See page 32)
The story before Snow White.
The Huntsman: WINTER'S WAR
Release Date:
04/08/16
Format:
Since we last caught up with Mac (Seth Rogen) and
Kelly (Rose Byrne), another bun has popped into the
oven. This has led to some serious life decisions for the
pair – most notably to sell up their home and shuffle
off to the kiddie-friendly burbs. Everything looks on
track and they have a buyer, but a 30-day cooling off
period, and the arrival within this time of wild sorority
Kappa Nu next door, leads Mac and Kelly to resort to
desperate measures. How desperate? They call in an
expert – former nemesis Teddy (Zac Efron), who initially
sides with the Kappa Nu sisters, until they turn on him. They hatch some
devious schemes, but the girls aren’t so easily moved. As wonderfully
dumb as the original, the addition of Chloë Grace Moretz rocks, but once
again it's the loveably dumb dude-bro Teddy who steals the show.
AF
There's a new war next door.
BAD NEIGHBOURS 2
Release Date:
25/08/16
Format:
One day you’re the queen of the corporate world, with
enough money to make Oprah green with envy. Then you’re
done for insider trading, discover more about the inside via
a prison stint, and re-enter the world with nothing – the
result of stepping upon pretty much everybody on your rise
to the top. This is the story of Michelle Darnell (Melissa
McCarthy), who subsequently lumps herself upon her
former assistant Claire (Kristen Bell) and young daughter
while she endures a bout of self pity, before tasting her
host’s brownies and plugging back into her entrepreneurial
streak. Here we learn the lengths Darnell will go to in order to succeed –
again. An interesting mixture of gross-out humour with a little heart folded
in,
The Boss
has many laughs, although much like if you’ve scarfed a whole
plate of brownies, you may feel a bit guilty afterwards.
AF
Watch your assets.
THE BOSS
Release Date:
11/08/16
Format:
Olympic glory is something that many kids crave – many
adults too, even when they’re past their prime. Young Brit
Michael Edwards was no different, despite being hamstrung
by woeful eyesight and a rather stodgy figure. But he
persevered, and became quite a good downhill skier – yet
not good enough for the Olympics. So, he decided to take
on the dangers of ski-jumping instead – the first such English
Olympian since the 1920s to do so. Taron Egerton steps up
as Eddie, while Hugh Jackman plays his (fictional) louche
American coach Bronson Peary. From childhood through
training and onto the big event,
Eddie the Eagle
is a fabulous feel-good family
flick all the way, in a similar vein to 1993’s true tale of Jamaican bobsledders
Cool Runnings
– which, incidentally, happened at the same Olympics. There
must have been something in that lovely Canadian air, eh?
AF
(See page 34)
Win or lose, always aim high.
EDDIE THE EAGLE
Release Date:
03/08/16
Format:
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